Some dogs will fetch until your shoulder gives out, and stopping is not a negotiation they accept. A launcher takes the arm out of the equation: it throws the same distance every time, it does not get bored, and once a dog learns to drop the ball into the funnel they can run the game themselves.

Distance adjusts from roughly 3 metres to 9 metres, which is the range that makes it usable indoors as well as out — set it short for a hallway on a wet afternoon, long for the garden. Three tennis balls come in the box, which is a more practical inclusion than it sounds, because the first one will go under the sofa within a week. It runs from a USB cable and the shell is ABS.

• Adjustable throw distance, roughly 3 to 9 metres
• Suitable for small to medium dogs
• Three tennis balls included
• ABS construction; USB cable supplied
• Works indoors and outdoors

Two things worth saying honestly. Teaching the drop takes patience — most dogs need a few sessions before they will release the ball into the funnel rather than carrying it off, so expect to load it by hand at first. And fetch is genuinely high-impact exercise: repeated sprint-and-turn is hard on joints, so cap the sessions rather than letting an obsessive dog run until they drop. A launcher makes it easy to overdo, which is the one drawback of it being tireless.

Who it's for: High-drive dogs, collies and spaniels who need more than a walk, owners with a shoulder injury, and anyone whose dog has decided fetch is a full-time occupation.